Progress is Progress... Mile or a Millimeter

  The Great Expectations Game in Recovery: Why Perfect is the Enemy of Progress Let me paint you a picture: There I was, fresh into recovery, thinking I had it all figured out. "Once I get clean, everything's going to fall into place like some kind of magical sobriety domino effect." Spoiler alert: That's not exactly how it went down. Here's the thing about recovery that nobody tells you in the brochures: getting clean is just the opening act. It's like thinking you've won the marathon because you finally put on your running shoes. Don't get me wrong – putting on those shoes is huge. It's necessary. It's brave. But it's just the beginning. From someone who's made the journey from dealing drugs to dealing with mortgage payments (plot twist: the paperwork for the latter is way more intimidating), I've learned a few things about expectations in recovery. And as both a person in long-term recovery and now a substance use counselor, I...

The Addiction Treatment Workforce Crisis: A View from Both Sides of the Desk I never thought I'd end up here. Sitting behind a desk, armed with a collection of credentials that look like alphabet soup after my name, helping people navigate the same darkness I once called home. Life has a funny way of coming full circle, doesn't it? For those who don't know me, I'm both a person in recovery and a substance abuse counselor. Yes, I'm that person who went from "I'll never get better" to "Let me help you get better." The irony isn't lost on me. But here's the thing: Our field is in crisis. Not the kind of crisis where you wake up in strange places wondering where your shoes are (been there, done that, got the mugshot), but a different kind of emergency altogether. We're facing a severe shortage of addiction treatment professionals, and it's hitting harder than a Monday morning hangover. The Numbers Don't Lie (Unlike I Used To) ...

Recovery Groups: Where Social Anxiety Meets Folding Chairs  Let's talk about that moment. You know the one. As you sit in your vehicle outside the recovery meeting with a tight grip on the steering wheel you debate facing your inner struggles or taking a drive to Taco Bell instead. Your phone's GPS is quietly judging you: "You have arrived at your destination." Yeah, thanks for the reminder, Captain Obvious.  Everyone who attends recovery meetings knows this common experience as pre-group paralysis. You find yourself trapped between two fears as you enter recovery meetings because you feel scared of both attending and leaving. Fun times.  Here's what your brain is probably telling you: Each person inside functions flawlessly as a recovery robot who maintains a perfectly organized life. They all know each other. These individuals sit in a circle (ugh, circles) and share profound wisdom while knitting sweaters to help homeless kittens. You stand before the door, you...

Let me paint you a picture. Ever seen those old kung-fu movies where some dude punches straight through another guy, and you can see right through the hole? That's us – walking around like human Swiss cheese, full of holes punched through by trauma. And what do we do? We slap whatever band-aids we can find over those holes just to keep moving. Sometimes those band-aids look like drugs. Sometimes they look like crime. Sometimes they're toxic relationships or behaviors that would make your therapist need therapy. But here's the thing – we did what we had to do to survive. The Street-Smart Guide to Trauma Here's something wild: half the time, we don't even realize we're traumatized. When you grow up in dysfunction, dysfunction becomes your normal. Trust me, I know. It took me years to connect the dots that my abandonment issues started in infancy when my biological mother bounced. That's the thing about trauma – it's sneaky like that. You want to talk about...